Might Morphin’ Power Rangers #02

When your biggest gripe about an issue is the cover, that publisher is doing something right. You can’t tease me with Megazord action on the cover and then not deliver.
That’s not to say that the second issue of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers doesn’t give us a taste of the zords at all. In fact, BOOM! Studios gives us probably the most elusive view of a zord yet: something besides the cockpit. As carried over from the first few issues Billy and Trini are still trying to sort out the issue of why the Dragonzord stopped listening to the voices-hearing Green Ranger. We get three full pages of the duo poking around the insides of the zord which isn’t a ton since author Kevin Higgins uses this time to also advance the story thread of the other rangers not particularly caring for Tommy. However we are gifted with a really cool image of the Dragonzord submerged deep in the ocean.
Having left off with Scorpina facing down Tommy in his own bedroom in the first issue it was an early defining moment for the series. By having one of Rita Repulsa’s goons attack a ranger in somewhere other than an open field like in the tv show it was announcing that things were being bumped up from PG to PG-13… if it held. Since Tommy was seeing and hearing Rita in his mind, Scorpina could’ve easily been another hallucination and everything goes back to the kiddie era.
Instead Scorpina basically insinuates she’s going to kill Tommy’s mom who is on the other side of the door.
With that line draw in the sand, author Kevin Higgins has to walk that line carefully. Straying too far in one direction or the other and you stand to alienate part of your audience. With the Putties there’s the room for brutality which is exploited by Tommy stabbing a hole through one. Scorpina survives the scuffle with Tommy and a few other rangers without taking many hits so how a “real” monster will be treated is yet to be seen.
The most interesting part still remains the dynamic of Tommy and the other rangers. Goody-two-shoes Jason is the most accepting of course outside of potentially Kimberly for… other reasons. Even those two have their issues with their new teammate though which is something that the show never chose to examine other than once when a shark monster made Jason and Tommy argue all the time that I remember. It makes it feel like more complete characters instead of cookie-cutter props.
We end with Tommy passing out so hopefully we’re building to the yet unseen zord battle with a giant monster. If Rita’s taking up residence in Tommy’s brain she probably knows he’s down so anyone of any military knowledge knows that if a big force like the Dragonzord is out of commission, you attack.
Granted, this is a space witch living on the moon so you never know.